kenoscomm | locked to zenith

[ Link's mental space feels like being outside, so depending on where you are, you might not realize that someone has started Communion with you. Since joining the Zenith, the landscape of Link's mind has gone from idyllic, sunny forests to icy, overcast mountains. A frigid wind blows against your face, carrying the scent of firewood and meat roasting over an open flame. The diminutive Hylian is not sitting by the fire, but standing at the edge of a rocky ledge, his back turned. ]

There's going to be another Oracle soon. I can feel it. The rest of you can feel it too, right? That... pulling feeling.

[ He sighs. ]

If we lose this one, it's over. The Meridian isn't going to go easy on us. I know them... I know how badly they want to win. To them, the stakes couldn't be higher.

So let's talk. About what we're going to be up against, and... well, planning ahead isn't really something we can do, but at least we can warn each other of the dangers that individual Meri pose.

And I... I want to say something, too.

[ He sits down where he stands, his feet hanging off the cliff. There's a sense that he knows this isn't going to go over well, but it's important enough to him to say it anyway. ]

Killing the other guy before they kill you is what war is. That's normal. But Kenos is different. Death doesn't work the way it should here. We don't die permanently. You can neutralize someone threatening you by just dissipating them. There's nothing to gain by destroying their soul after you're no longer in danger.

So, I don't think any of us should shatter anyone ever again.

If you claim someone's Shard, you should protect it. If you feel that you can't do that, give it to someone else.

...I'm not stupid. I know a lot of you aren't gonna agree to this. And the Meris probably won't either. I'm sure they want revenge for what happened to Quetzalcoatl, and those of you who lost the Shards Yima gave you probably aren't feeling very merciful right now either...

But if we don't come to some kinda agreement now, that's going to become normal. Things are gonna get really bad. I don't want that. So... can we talk about it, at least?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You're right. There is something hunting us. I awoke from a nightmare not too long ago, a nightmare that wrenched my shard from my chest. I don't know what could cause something like that— I'm no stranger to bad dreams.

In that dream, I was being hunted. Perhaps even by that which lurks in the shadows.

[There's a sensation like him shaking his head.]

Zenith desperately needs a morale boost. Even if gathering these Oracles is for naught... we still need to win. If we win this, it will be two each.

I did too, [ Matt replies immediately. ] And yeah, I have nightmares too, but it was the same thing--being hunted, my Shard ripped out.

[ This instantly bumps the dream from suspicious nightmare to vision in his mind. Great!

Matt rolls the issue of morale around in his mind for a moment. Then, tentative, ] Do you think it might be easier to reason with some of the less reasonable people around here if we won the next one? Like ... they'd be less afraid, or upset?

[ Though Meridian would get worse. Maybe they can "afford" to lose this round, but he can't imagine any of them feel that way. And of course they wouldn't--even after attacking Highstorm. Revenge has yet to bring back a single slain civilian, as far as he's aware. ]

It's possible, aye.

[He hopes.]

Being able to find out something about the thing stalking us would help, too. We need concrete proof, something that's impossible to ignore.

I've been working on that.

[ Matt sounds firmer on this point. ]

I found something small with light scars on it--a teacup from the baubles market. Took it back home and tried to get a feel for it, though so far all I have is that the light seems ... kind of alien. Like it came from somewhere far away? And like it's capable of shining brighter than the normal light here is.

Um. And I was talking to another magic user, from Meridian, about how we might get some of these phenomena to stand still long enough to get a better look at them.

That's good, that's good.

[Cid isn't lying.]

It will be difficult. There are people beyond reasoning on both sides. Ones who will refuse to listen when it comes to the peril just outside of Kenos, too consumed with war.

So any ally you can make in Meridian, embrace it.

[It makes it sound like Cid has his own, though he isn't naming names.]

The more this war heats up, the more difficult it will be to travel to the opposite city, after all.

[ Matt can't help warming at the sense of approval. Arriving here and being plunged almost immediately into armed conflict--being in the first physical fight of his life--it would have been disorienting even without the devastation to life in the universe. External validation, especially from someone who's been here a long time, feels stabilizing. ]

That's true, [ he allows. ] Although usually when I go to Springstar now, I'm invisib--

Oh.

Hey.

Do you want an invisibility charm? Nothing fancy, and it'd wear out pretty quick, but ... if you needed to go to Springstar for non-war-making purposes.

Uh—

[The question catches him off-guard. He hasn't stepped foot in Springstar for a very long time, for a variety of reasons.]

Certainly. That could prove useful, especially in the future.

I have a spell that can hide myself an a few more of my choosing for a time, but it's not so useful in Springstar. Too much light.

Oh, multiple people at once? [ Matt's intrigued. ] That's great. I haven't tried mine with multiple people, so I don't know if you could transfer the effects through physical contact or proximity ...

But it definitely works in Springstar. [ Although as Matt has begun to learn, no amount of invisibility can disguise how totally unsneaky he is. ] So I'd be happy to make you a version too.

Does your invisibility spell rely on shadows or clouds or something?

It relies on shadows, yes. It would... stand out a bit too much in a place with so much light. A problem, if you're concerned with stealth.

It's also not completely invisible. Someone with sufficient magical knowledge could spot it.

... That might be the case for mine too, [ Matt considers, thinking of Flat. ] I'll have to check on that. But once I get that settled, uh ... I'll make you something.

[ There's a pleasant sense of centeredness at this last thought. Bright uptick. Matt loves casting spells, and he loves tinkering with them to make them better, and he loves being able to offer people something useful. ]

Thank you.

For what it's worth, I am willing to use my spell on you. You'd need to stick close, but it's doable with more than one person. It's more of an exit plan than infiltration, however.

That'd be awesome, [ Matt answers. ] I didn't get to hang out with that many practitioners back home, so I'd never say no to seeing new magic. And I rarely have an exit plan.

[ It's a joke! Haha! And yet it is also accurate. ]

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